Pumpkin event is real smash

PORTSMOUTH -- People of all ages got to try their hand at demolishing a pumpkin during the 5th annual Pumpkin Smash at the Portsmouth Farmers Market on Saturday.

From kids to grandparents the event allows people the chance to obliterate pumpkins for the fun of it.

Sarah Polizzo had her 4-year-old son Luke take his turn whacking at the pumpkins. Luke initially began hitting it with a mallet, moved onto a baseball bat, and eventually stomped on the scattered remains.

“It's just something they can't do every day,” Polizzo said. “It's a time to get loose and have a good time. Everybody loves it.”

The chance to destroy the fall crop was a one-time $5 payment. Proceeds from the event will go to the Portsmouth Halloween Parade.

Pumpkins were lined up in front of City Hall along with a varied selection of weapons to choose from. These included two wooden and one aluminum baseball bat, a sledgehammer, mallets in various sizes and a shovel.

“People seem to take to those mallets,” Halloween Parade member Trevor Bartlett said. “When the shovel comes out seeds will fly out for miles.”

The pumpkins used in the smashing were all rotted and wouldn't have been sold. Bartlett said this will give them a second life and afterwards whatever is left of the pumpkins will be given to local farms.

According to Bartlett the smallest pumpkins are actually the hardest to smash.

“I tried picking the dirtiest pumpkin thinking it would be the most rotten,” Polizzo said. “That was a mistake.”

The Pumpkin Smash has become a traditional event for many people especially kids.

“There are kids that come back every year,” Halloween Parade member Sarah Lechance said. “I have parents say their kids have been waiting for a year.”

Julia Luff, a Portsmouth High School student, liked how it brought the community together through a fun activity. Luff said she will be working in the Halloween Parade.

“It gets all anger out on the pumpkin,” Luff said. “It was really fun.”

Bartlett believed the concept can appeal to anyone who wants to get their frustration or strength out on a pumpkin.

“It's simple and effective,” Bartlett said. “People like smashing things ... we open the door for them and they run right through it.”